Jackie is a photographer here in Austin and, I’m happy to say, an awesome personal friend of mine. When I decided to make the leap into doing photography as a professional, she was and continues to be, my constant cheerleader and always fills me with hope and inspiration to move forward.
Jackie took some pictures of me for my LOLA (Ladies of Liberty Alliance) calendar page last year and I told her then, if she ever wanted me to take some shots of her, I was all hers. So this week she finally took me up on my offer and we headed out to downtown Austin’s Four Seasons hotel. The day was absolutely beautiful, as was Jackie. It was so much fun working with her because one of her true strengths is her creativity and spirit of play. She kicks butt at posing people and so when it’s her turn in front of the camera, she knows exactly how to pose herself.
What was really funny (and endearing) was to see her share all the same anxieties and insecurities every client has about how they look on camera. Even when we were planning her shoot, it was almost like she was “warning” me that she just doesn’t take good pictures! I told her to just chillax, try to have fun, and let me be the one to worry about making her look good.
As I was doing her shoot, and hearing her tell me how her lips didn’t look right, or her face was weird, or whatever, I was honestly sort of heartbroken. But not because she was being critical of me… but because she was being critical of herself! I see Jackie as downright gorgeous. Beautiful eyes, great face, fantastic hair, and a supermodel body. I was heartbroken because I wished so badly she saw herself the way I saw her.
When I delivered the pictures to her, she laughed and said how she actually did like them. I could hear the slight surprise in her voice when she told me “Wow! You did a really good job!” I identified something right then and there that makes me love photography: I want to make everyone, and I mean everyone, SEE their true beauty. I take great pride and pleasure in having my camera capture a person’s true essence. Sure, we’re not all “models” but to me, we are all beautiful. And that’s my job. To show you that.
Love you tons, miss JJ Photography!!
Rita Quinn
For more information about Jackie Jackson’s photography work, you can visit www.jjphotographyaustin.com
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